1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to games normally played in an arcade environment, and more particularly to games that sense objects directed by a player to influence a game score.
2. Background of the Related Art
Games of many types are played in arcade environments. One type of game includes object sensors for detecting objects directed by players at provided targets. Golfing games can make use of object detection to determine when a golf ball falls into a target hole.
An example of a game with an object sensor is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,281, of Leber et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,163, of Warner et al, which describe horseshoe-pitching games having a stake target area for receiving a pitched horseshoe. A TV camera and computer or sensor grid are used to determine the position of a horseshoe and the resulting score.
Another example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,576, of T. Harris, which describes an apparatus and method for computing the trajectory of a moving object. Video cameras and a computer identify a ball and compute its position in three dimensions as a function of time.
An example of a golfing game having an object sensor is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,140 of G. Vincent, in which a video camera positioned at the tee records a flight trajectory of a ball from the tee to the green to keep a record for the player.
Another example of a golfing game having an object sensor is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,145 of S. Kim, in which a ball is detected when it falls in a cup or crosses an optical beam positioned on the putting green.
The object sensing games of the prior art, while enjoyable, are limited when determining an identity of a directed object and the final resting position of the object. In addition, the prior art games are limited when determining a trajectory of a directed object. These prior art games tend to determine one of these characteristics, but not more. In addition, the prior art games tend to assume that a directed object is a valid object and do not therefore determine the identity of an object or perform other validation procedures. In prior art golfing games, the detection of balls tends to be limited to a sensor provided in the target hole or at a particular location on a putting green or field, which does not allow a reliable score or evaluation for balls that do not land in the hole.
Furthermore, the prior art games tend to require a great amount of operator supervision to prevent player abuses of the game and to compensate for changing environmental conditions. These limitations can be undesirable in an arcade environment for a game which detects a player-directed object and presents a score to a player based on the final position of the object.